Irish Age Groups Division 2, University of Limerick

Since I have absolutely no intention of doing anything for the next few hours I might as well write about the gala at the weekend, which surprisingly enough wasn't actually that bad!

Ok so it's been a while since I have been able to perform well at galas... I've been doing pretty good in training, finishing every set and hitting nearly all of my 85% times and all that technical stuff, but it just doesn'e reflect itself at meets. I think it's probably a psycholigical thing as much as anything else, I mean, if I can do the work in trainig then surely I can do it in competetion. Well this weekend, it all finally paid off. By that I mean that I actually got good PBs and even got pleaced well...

All through the week I had been doing very little. Firstly because I didn't want to be too tired going into the meet and also because I kind of needed to recover after the alst weekend. It was just all easy short swims, the alst one was Thursday night in Knockanannig where it was 21degC! On Friday I was incrediblt bored so I got a spin up to Limerick so I could support the people who were swimming on that day.

Saturday morning I was entered for the 100m Butterfly, don't ask why I entered this, I think it was because you had to enter 200m Freestyle and 200m I.M. plus two other 100m events and I certainly didn't want to do Backstroke or Breaststroke! I swam well enough, I think I may have got a 1:12 or someting like that... It was a PB anyway and my previous time was a 1:16 so a reasonably good improvement there. I was just outside the finals so was a "reservist".

In the evening I had the 200m Freestyle, apparently this was going to be my event so my coach insisted that I should do a few at 85% before going to line up. This was to get me into the mindset of swimming fast. And you know what, it really worked.. I do infact swim better after doing some fast work before the race. I took nearly 3secs off my old time to get a 2:11.84 which put me in 3rd place.

The next morning was the really important one, 100m Freestyle. The three of us who train in the middle lane together were all in this event. I was going in on a 1:02.15, Rory on 1:01.97 (that was the only time he ever beat me and is always reminding me), and James was going in on something well below the minute. In the heats James got the fastest with 59.40 but unfortunately got a big DQ for breaking! I got 1:00.79 and Rory got 1:00.51 so he was still marginally ahead. It was going to be a great final, the seeded times were 1:00.49, 1:00.50, 1:00.51, 1:00.51, 1:00.79 ans so on.. I was going in 5th and Rory 3rd. Lining up on the blocks I had three goals, beat Rory No. 1, break the minute No. 2 and get in the medals No. 3...

It was a great race. I can't remember who the winner was but he won in 59.55. Myself and Dylan Ryan from Ennis were joint 2nd in 1:00.10, Rory was 4th in 1:00.50. So goals 1 and 3 acheived and almost No. 2. Now it's just a case of losing that extra few kilos I'm carrying for the Channel and that 10th of a second is history. It feels great to be so close to that minute which I have been chasing for so long!

My last event for this year was the 200m I.M., not exactly my favourite event but it is compulsory so there's no point complainig about it... I'm not interested in this event at all so I didn't even know my PB. I found out later that it was 2:38, I just lined up and did the best I could. I took 3secs off to get a 2:35 which put me in 4th place s I got a nice certificate. Not too bad for somebody who doesn't do I.M. though. I think it was my Backstroke which let me down. It used to be my #1 stroke, not anymore!

I really enjoyed the whole weekend and to be honest I'm a bit disappointed that it's over for another year. My friend Chris Mintern from Sunday's Well did brilliantly, winning the swimmer of the meet award. Fermoy did very well overall, I don't have the exact number of medals and certificates but there wer loads anyway. Karen Sheehan cleaned up winning practically everything she entered, and she entered everything! Last week she came 3rd in 100m Breaststroke in the Inter-Provincials in Dublin and next week she is going to the Division 1s. Karaen is only 11 years old. Stacey Hegarty is also going to the Division 1s next week. Good Luck Karen and Stacey! We will also be missing Danielle O'Flynn next year. Dan decided to leave this year so it was her last ever outing with the Club, Bye Dan...!

So that's it for the moment. This Saturday, I am swimming from Cork City Hall to the Ocean, should take about 6 or 7hrs. We are starting at 4am. That's all I know so far so will updae on that later...

Some good progress...

The last week has been taken up with the International Long Distance Training Camp and a few other things... The camp started in Sandycove last Saturday 13th June. There were swimmers from the USA, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany and Sweden.

It is mostly two swims each day; a longer swim in the morning and a shorter swim in the evening. I wasn't able to make Monday morning but we did have the evening swim in the Blackwater. Tuesday I had Club Training in the morning and we went to Inishcarra for the evening swim. Inishcara was really nice, I can't believe I had never swam there before! Wednesday was a horrible 5am start in Sandycove. The tide was out and it was cold and stormy so we only did about 40mins. In the evening the river was too high to swim so we all did 2hrs in Knockanannig Resevoir in Fermoy and it was beautful.

I took Thursday and Friday off. Thursday I woke at 3:50am to be on the bus for 4:00am. This was for the Swimming Club trip to Oakwood in Pembrokeshire, Wales. We had a brilliant day. From the ferry in the middle of Saint George's Channel, it was easier to tell people what the English Channel would be like. I think that they were a little surprised at swimming in the open sea... It was very tiring though, two of the alds went back the next day with CBS Mitchelstown! I don't know how they did it. Friday I had a complete rest.

Saturday was very interesting... It was the 9mile Champion of Champions race in Sandycove. It consists of 5miles at 9am, 3miles at 2pm and a sprint mile at 5pm. The first leg from the Speckled Door was hard but I got there eventually. I finished third in both the second and third races. Overall I was 3hrs 48mins or something like that and in fourth place (first from outside the USA)...!The water was cold but I was looking forward to a slightly warmer day Sunday.

Saturday night I stayed at Ned's house, as did the Channel General/Queen Mother, Freda Streeter, who was brilliant to have around for the weekend. The next mornig we headed down to Sandycove for the 7hr swim. The tide was way out so there was no water to swim in, and what little water there was was freezing! But there was no point in complainig so we just had to grin and bare it... Our first feed was after 2hrs and God did I need it. I still hadn't managed to warm up at this point, it was only 11 or 12 Celsius. After that I fed every half our until5hrs 15mins... Then Ned said that we were going to only do 6hrs, that was welcome. So My last swim was a wide inside triangle and into the slipway at 6hrs 26secs. I had Qualified for the Channel! I would like to thank Noel (sorry don't know surname) who stayed with me for the last 90mins, I wouldn't have finished without you...

Also, today I went to Teach na Leanaí, a Montesorri school where I went before starting school. The children raised €200 for my swim through a charity walk we went on back in April sometime. Thanks a million everybody! I have now almost reached my fundraising target... Also, sorry for the lack of pictures, I don't think I want to remember my very cold 6hr. I will updae again next week after the Irish Age Groups Division 2 Gala in UL.

Martin Duggan Memorial Swim 2009

Last Saturday 6th June, we had the second annual Martin Duggan Memorial Swim in the River Blackwater in Fermoy. This year the swim was held under Swim Ireland insurance, so we had a good incentive to make it a great event for everyone. Apart from the record turn-out of 45 swimmers, we had a fantastic effort from a large number of volunteers.

We had 5 main boats, with two crew members each and radios, so many kayaks I lost count, 5 river-siade marshals, about 10 people who were making sandwiches, cakes, tea, coffee and many more who were just willing to help. A special thanks fo course is owed to Fermoy Rowing Club for the full use of their facilities on the day.

All the swimmers and volunteers were early so we were able to have the safety briefing on-time and have all the swimmers in the water by 2pm. But of course, at 2 o'clock on the dot, in typical Irish fashion, it started raining and all the sheets were destroyed which made things even more difficult for our brave time-keepers.

The first swimmers home were Stephen Brooks and Conor O'Brien, both 12 from Mitchelstown, who did the 1km swim. Going over the results of previous swims, we discovered that Stephen was not only the youngest participant, but also the fastest swimmer over the 1km distance. Well done lads! Both Stephen and Conor train 7hrs per week with Fermoy SC.

After a long stint out in the wind and rain, our timekeepers were finally able to go and get warmed up inside when the last swimmer home, Finbarr Heddderman, finished up after 2hrs 46mins. Last year Fin swam the English Channel in 13 and a half hours at the same temerature... Yes it was only 13.5 Celsius!

Aswell as all the refreshments, the swimmers and volunteers were also treated to a selection of my Dad's photos of Fermoy and the Blackwater and some photos of the swim on the big screen upstairs in the Rowing Club. There were a few unexpected guests who walked in thinking that this was the venue for the count of votes for the Urban Council Elections. It had been here in previous years but was moved 100m down the quay to the Youth Centre...

I would just like to thank all of the following people for their help on the day: Danny Higgins and Ken Barry of Fermoy Rowing Club for the use of the Clubhouse and the piloting of the two launches, Blackwater Sub-Aqua Club S&R Unit for their presence in a safety capacity both in the RIB and on the bank, Tony Hally for giving up his day to bring his own boat out on the river, Dónal Clancy for rounding up all the kayakers from Pheonix Kayak Club who dod such a great job and for providing the car-park of Quinn-healthcare, my Mam and Brigid Noonan and everyone else who made sandwiches and cakes etc. and finally Pádraig Barry who took hundreds of excellent photographs. Appologies to anyone who I have forgotten to mention.

I would also like to thank the Duggan family for their presence and for donating a shield which will be awarded to a swimmer every year in future...

Lough Sheelin, Co. Cavan

Well, home at last. I left for Castlepollard, Co. Westmeath on Saturday afternoon with my Mam, Dad and small brother. The drive up was fairly uneventful; we bypassed Mitchelstown (I won't make any smart comment just in-case) so it was motorway all the way to Cullahill, a few tailbacks in Abbeyleix and Portlaoise and we were there in three and a half hours.

Our hotel was very nice, the owner was a very funny woman. That night I had a nice 16oz T-bone steak with onions, mushrooms, pepper sauce and a bowl of chips followed by a good slice of hot chocolate fudge cake and a scoop of ice-cream. You need to eat lots the day before a swim! Dave, who was doing the 5km swim, and Brigid arrived with the two boys later.

Then on Sunday morning we headed out to the lake. It was a scorcher of a day and there was no wind so I was expecting to do a good time for the 10k. The 15k swimmers were just heading out as we arrived. It was a beautiful place and the water was quite warm. I caught up with a few more Channel aspirants, including Julieann Galloway (very fast), before eventually managing to register for the swim.

When we finally got into the water I was pleasantly surprised... It was quite warm and it was a beautiful clear lake, though it was a pity that everything was carpeted in those terrible zebra mussles that found there way in on the bottom of boats. After a bit of waiting around in the water, the clackson sounded and the race was on.

Right from the start Julieann was out in front and I was behind her in second. For the first lap I was able to navigate by watching her kayak. But by the second 2.5km lap, she was too far infront and I could see nothing. About half way through the second lap I stopped and took off my goggles. I had a look around and coul only see one boat in the distance, so I swam for that as I thought that was probably where the turn buoy was.

When I got to the turn buoy (which wasn't much bigger than a milk bottle) I decided that this was my last lap and found my way back by heading towards the hotel up on the hill. When I got out I was really annoyed that I hadn't been able to finish ust because the course was so poorly marked and I had no kayaker. I felt strong and not a bit cold. As you can imagine I was pretty pissed off so I just went over to the car for a while to calm down!

After I'd had a shower and got dressed I just relaxed at the side of the lake and tried to forget about the whole thing. I was thinking all sorts of things like "how hard can it be to find ten kayakers?" and "why were there only three gallon bottles marking a 2.5km lap on an open lake?". I know it sounds like I am trying to blame anything but myself, but I was genuinly annoyed about the whole thing, I really could have done the 10k.

Afterwards I found out that lots of people did the same thing as I did so I didn't feel like the only awkward customer... When Dave finished his 5k, we worked out that he had actually swam about 7k as a result of the course! When we got home I was finally bale to forget about it and move onto orgainising the Blackwater Swim on 6th June. The next day I did an 8k swim in Fermoy... pic above.